First, I would like to announce that my wife and I are expecting our second child this coming February! With this exciting news comes familiar feelings and questions we both experienced with our first child: Can we handle this? What will the expenses be? Who will this child end up growing up to be? Parents unwillingly and sometimes uncontrollably have pre-existing expectations for their child even before holding them for the first time in the hospital. We forecast who and what they will be, almost like how a coach game plans for a sporting event even before the first play has occurred. However, in life as in sporting events, things can change in a blink of an eye that sets our voyage on a completely different course.

As I was navigating through social media a few months ago, I came upon a video by a man named Jason Hague. Jason is a pastor, writer, and blogger who has a busy life full of many of the same things we keep busy with as well. He also has a son with Autism. In his video, Jason reads a poem to his son which gives a glimpse into the inner world of their relationship. Without going into the whole video, the most important aspect to take away is something we should all share as parents with children, whether typical or on the spectrum; they are works of creation that we need to show unconditional love and acceptance. Please visit jasonhague.com and watch “A Reflection of Aching Joy” (A poem for Jack).-Joe DeVore, Teacher, Celebrate the Children​